To make room in the living room for the growing array of free Jane pictures which we haven't hung on the wall yet, I cleared off the top of the entertainment center, which necessitated moving the CD boombox elsewhere. What better place to put it than in Jane's room, where it can play Mozart music to her every night and nap time? The beauty of this plan is that the baby monitor sits on the dresser, too, which means that Mozart music is piped to us free and clear and we have the advantage of falling asleep to its soothing strains every night. Good for our intellects? You would think so.
The other night I made this delicious chicken and broccoli casserole, which someone brought to us after Jane was born and which I was eager to replicate. Michael took the first bite, as usual, and I waited anxiously for his good opinion.
Michael: The broccoli tastes a little crunchy. Did you cook it long enough?
Me: I should say so! The recipe said to cook it for four minutes, and I cooked it for ten!
Michael: Hmmm. Let me see the recipe. (Looks at recipe.) This is a microwave recipe! Didn't you take that casserole out of the oven?
Me: Yes, that made more sense.
Michael: It says to cook the broccoli four minutes in the microwave, which means that ten minutes in the oven wouldn't be enough. Why didn't you just follow the recipe?
Me: I didn't know you could bake things in the microwave. That seems too easy. I mean, if you really could bake things in the microwave, then why wouldn't we cook everything in the microwave? Why waste the electricity of a conventional oven at all?
Michael: Microwaves are a shortcut. Some things don't turn out the same way, but a lot of things do, and in a lot less time. Hence the recipe.
Me: Honestly, all I ever thought microwaves were good for was reheating leftovers and melting butter.
Michael: How about next time you want to not follow the recipe, you check with me first?
Apparently Mozart's music is not making me smart enough.
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This reminds me of the young co-worker of Darren's who saw him baking a potato in the microwave. "Hey, you can bake potatoes in the microwave? I didn't know that! How do you do it?" So Darren explained that it only takes five to eight minutes, and makes a good filling lunch. Only, once he told me this and I inquired further, he admitted he'd forgotten to mention that you have to poke holes in the potato. Guess it's never too late to learn that microwaves explode things, too.
-- SJ
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